Under the Mistletoe
by the Dah
Summary: Arranging their version of the Westerners' Christmas celebration was fun and exciting for the whole Himura family. But now that the children are asleep, Kaoru and Kenshin get inspired by the Mistletoe - and the customs that go along with it... (Written for 2016 Ruroken Secret Santa Gift Exchange.)


**RK Secret Santa Gift** for Kakikaeru. I asked her what she would like to receive more, Christmas themed fluff or lemony goodness, and she said both – so both it was. I hope you enjoy!

 **Characters:** Kaoru Kamiya, Kenshin Himura, Kenji Himura  
 **Pairings:** Kenshin/Kaoru  
 **Rating:** M, contains fairly soft-core NSFW content (warnings for _femdom_ , _cunnilingus_ , _hand job_ and _face-sitting_ )  
 **Setting:** CANON after series, loosely tied to my "CANON after series" drabble verse.  
 **Word count:** 4117  
 **Notes:** Thank you Animaniacal for your help in editing and your wonderful suggestions!

* * *

 **Under the Mistletoe**

" _Merii Kurisumasu_ ," said a familiar voice behind her, valiantly trying to pronounce the unfamiliar words.

Kaoru couldn't quite hold back her amusement, and with a laugh, she too tried not to mangle the words, " _Merii Kurisumasu_ to you, too. Was it too strange of an idea to have a Westerner's celebration?"

"Strange, yes," Kenshin admitted as he stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, "Foreign, most definitely… but not _too_ strange."

"That's good," Kaoru said with a smile and leaned her back against his shoulder, basking in the sheer physical pleasure of his embrace.

She knew exactly what he meant by strange.

The foreigner's seasonal celebration was filled with strange customs and oddly specific requirements, such as bringing a triangular tree inside one's house, decorated with ribbons and a star, a feast centered on cooking a bird stuffed with other foods… even now, Kaoru privately suspected that Tae's friend had made up half of these fantastic details instead of actually witnessing them at the Westerner party she had gone to.

However, the idea of a party in the middle of winter centered on gift-giving had seemed exciting and fun for the whole family, and because of that, Kaoru had wanted to try celebrating this "Christmas."

The dining room was decorated with red and white ribbons, with several candles lighting it up quite prettily. The feast had been a _marvel._ While they had none of the traditional Western foods, Kenshin had outdone himself and put together several wonderful dishes, quite a few of them coming from southwest, more specifically Choshuu – or at least, so Kaoru suspected. But the true star of the evening, at least for their sons, five-year-old Kenji and his eager cheerleader, toddler Shinta, had been the promise of presents to be opened tomorrow morning. Both of their sons had lapped it up, agreeing to go to sleep early so that they could wake-up early, too.

When it came to the rest, well, they copied some of the Westerner's customs wherever it seemed sensible. Their Christmas tree was not a mystical triangular tree with a star, but the bonsai tree Doctor Gensai had gifted them on their wedding day, decorated with ribbons. The mistletoe had been the trickiest. Neither she nor Kenshin had known where to get one, but after some thinking, they had found a nice substitute in the form of a plum tree branch, which they had set above the doorway.

This doorway, in fact.

Kaoru grinned, recalling what Tae had mentioned was the custom that Westerner's associated with _mistletoe_.

She twisted in Kenshin's embrace, looking up to meet his gaze. In this darkness, the few candles they had set around the dining room sparkled like stars within his violet eyes. Beautiful. He had always been beautiful, but right now the realization struck her strongly and her breath caught with wonder.

"The children," she said, pausing to wet her lips. "Did you get them to sleep?"

"Shinta was asleep before this one got him tucked in properly. Kenji, though…" He huffed softly and shook his head.

"Our boy does like to take his time, doesn't he?" Kaoru let out a little sigh.

"It just shows he has spirit," Kenshin said. "Just like you."

"Oh? Our difficult and temperamental son takes after me, and the gently, easily pleased one takes after you? Is that what you are saying?" Kaoru challenged, grabbing him by the waist and pulling him closer.

"Oro!" he protested with a laugh." This one didn't say that, that he didn't!"

"Close enough!" Kaoru declared, and reaching up on tiptoes, kissed him on the lips.

"Hmmp!" he exclaimed in surprise, but she kissed him again – a bit slower and this time he relaxed into the gesture, finally catching the drift, and started to kiss her back.

Oh yes – this, this was what she had been waiting for.

A toddler and a temperamental five-year-old with an unfortunate fascination with heights and causing mayhem had severely restricted Kenshin and her chances to enjoy the simpler pleasures between husbands and wives. For the past year, they hadn't gotten around to it nearly often enough and even when they did, only for a few stolen moments under the cover of night, when they were absolutely sure both of their boys were sleeping.

Gods, she had missed the excitement of kissing him on a whim, digging her fingers into the soft, red mane of his hair and drawing out the most delicious little noises from him by acting a little forcefully. His reactions in moments like this got her blood pumping like nothing else.

And the best thing of setting the pace herself, was that she didn't need to wait around his gentlemanly habits, his need to please her all the time. No. She could just act and follow the paths of desire, the heat stirring in her core.

Just like now.

She drew back to gulp for air, feeling perspiration stick her pretty kimono to her back, to her chest, to her legs. Something wet was dripping down her inner thigh. Such an annoying feeling…

Kenshin's cheeks were flushed, setting the old whitened scar on his left cheek into stark relief, but his lips were reddened by her hungry kisses and glistening with her saliva. And his eyes… were wandering lower. Oh, so he was thinking along the same lines?

Kaoru pressed her hands to his shoulders and whispered softly in his ear, "Kneel down."

His breath hitched, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down with a distinct swallow. "Kaoru…"

She wasn't surprised by his hesitation. He was a private person by nature, but obviously, her idea was exciting him too. This close to him, she could feel his desire, plain as if they had been wearing no clothes at all.

"It's alright," she reassured. "We can be quiet, can't we?"

He exhaled softly and then nodded, just once. He knelt down, his hands slipping between her kimono folds, past her underskirt to caress her naked skin. As usual, his hands were cool and she hissed softly at his touch, hiking her hem up higher, allowing him free reign.

He glanced up at her, apology in his eyes, and he rubbed her thighs, her buttocks – nice, comfortable motions that warmed his cool hands but did little to ease the throbbing intensity in her nether regions.

Kaoru bit her lips, struggling to hold on to her patience. They had gotten this far, hadn't they?

But her fingers itched with the need to be buried in his hair and hurry him. Up and down he rubbed her thighs, tearing a low pitched whine from her throat... she just couldn't wait any longer. She pressed her hips forward and growled, "Stop dithering and put that clever mouth of your to use already!"

He glanced up between his lashes and let out a little laugh. "Yes, yes – as my lady commands."

And without further warning he grabbed her buttocks, buried his nose in her dark curls, deeply inhaling her scent, and then–

"Nggh!" Kaoru gasped, feeling his tongue lap against her most tender flesh, soft and strong, gentle and overwhelmingly good all at once. Oh, oh… it was so, so good. Kaoru inhaled deeply and leaned her right hand against the wall, allowing herself to relax into the sensation.

She all but purred, the long, purposeful strokes hitting her just right and she let go of her hem, choosing to stroke his scalp in circular motions instead, just the way she knew he liked.

Good work deserved a reward, after all.

She felt, more than heard, his hum of satisfaction – he truly cherished bringing her pleasure. That had been true from the very first time they had shared a bed together, to each and every time that had followed in these past six years of marriage.

The throbbing in her core was gaining in intensity with each lick and Kaoru felt the heat pool downwards in strengthening waves. She shivered, leaning her weight against the wall. Gods, that man! If he was going to take this any slower, her legs wouldn't carry her through to the end!

And he hadn't even dug his fingers in her center yet!

"Ken… shin," she gulped out. "Hurry up! Or my legs will give out and I'll sit on your face."

He stopped, his prettily flushed and messy face surfacing past her kimono hem. "Sit… on this one's face?" he echoed her, his eyes impossibly wide. "You'd do that?"

"…Yes?" Kaoru said, hesitating only slightly. She had said it on a whim, as a silly threat to hurry him up, but now… she looked at him, noting how his bottom lip wavered and the strangely intent look in his shocked eyes. They had never done that _specifically_ , but it really wasn't that big of a leap, was it?

"I'll sit on your face," Kaoru decided. "More, I'll hold back your hands so that you'll be entirely helpless to do anything but to eat me."

His pupils dilated and his face blushed even redder, and Kaoru knew she had guessed right.

So she lifted her hand to his head and pushed him lower. "Lie down."

Almost eagerly, he sat down and straightened his legs, lying on his back on the hard wooden floor. She followed him, arranging herself so that most of her weight was on her knees and his wrists were held captive beneath her ankles. Her left hand lifted up her kimono hem so that he could breathe easily, but her right was pressed against the wall, so that she could stay upright in this strange position.

His eyes were absolutely huge at being so completely under her mercy – but even now she couldn't see a hint of fear, distaste, or panic in his expression. He struggled upwards, his eyes narrowing in concentration as he tried to reach her folds.

Catching the hint, she sat lower, finally feeling his tongue slither inside her.

Gods! She whimpered, shivers racing up and down her spine and she sank even lower, allowing him a freer reign. His tongue, his wicked tongue was reaching places she had never, ever felt him reach before without his fingers to assist him.

"Uhn." She bit her lip, desperate to hold back her moans.

True, they were both still dressed, but the last thing either of them needed was for Kenji to wake up right now and question why mommy was sitting on daddy's face.

All the while, Kenshin kept lapping up her juices, his tongue stroking her core and her sensitive outer folds like a man dying of thirst. Every once in a while, his wrists tried against her ankles, testing their bonds – she could all but feel the frustration bonded with excitement this dilemma brought him.

He knew that if he could use his fingers, he could reduce her to a whimpering mess within moments, but right now… he was helpless, restricted to only using his mouth to bring her over the edge.

Once, she might have given up early – but this was by far the first time they had played this sort of game, and she didn't need to look behind her to know he was hard and leaking.

No, just like he knew all her weaknesses, she had long since figured out that his greatest rush was getting lost in the effort of pleasing her. When he had to work for it, rise to the challenge with single-minded tenacity, when he could see and feel the rising pleasure that his efforts brought her – when things aligned just right, he reached a kind of clarity where he didn't need to think, simply do.

These moments brought him such ease and calm, lifting all the stress and worries from his shoulders for hours after. She didn't know why it happened, but she had witnessed the phenomenon often enough to know what was going on in his mind right then.

The slurping sounds coming beneath her kimono hem, the feeling of his mouth, his lips and tongue – even his teeth, gently nipping at her outer folds, all those tiny details added to the moment, raising the heat playing inside her to a fever pitch.

Tremors raced down her legs as the difficult position took its toll, but the burn in her thighs was only adding to the urgency, the almost heady sense of desperation that was thrumming in her veins, and she knew she wouldn't last much longer.

She leaned forward, propping both of her arms against the wall as she tried to keep most of her weight on her knees.

Gulping for air, she gasped and moaned softly, her heart striking a wild staccato beat.

And still, he continued to lick, trying to reach deeper, stroke stronger, harder, to match the wave of desire that was building up inside her.

There was nothing but those slurping sounds in the darkness, the desire, the knowledge that it was all because of him. Her husband. The father of her children, and gods, no one should ever know what a wonderfully talented tongue he had. Kaoru bit on her hand, trying to keep quiet, but it was a losing battle. Lick and stroke, lick and stroke, blunt teeth nibbling the cluster of nerves at the center of her outer folds–

"Ah, ah, it's close, so close," she gasped, the edge of the wave rising and rising until it was too much, far too much to hold back and- "Kenshiiiiin!"

The wave crashed through her, drowning all other sensations under its overwhelming force, and for a second, she couldn't see, hear, or feel anything but blessed nothingness.

The lingering tension bled out of her and she stumbled off his face, falling to sit right beside him.

Wordlessly, he turned to his side, resting his head on her thigh.

For a moment, she just sat there – waiting for the world to align to its proper place.

"That… that was something else," she finally said. "Thank you, love."

He glanced up at her and smiled. "You're welcome."

And it was such a beautiful smile, except for… "Your face is absolutely filthy," Kaoru couldn't help but comment.

"So it is," he agreed, nuzzling his messy face against her kimono, satisfied as a cat after a bowl of cream.

She didn't wonder why he seemed so pleased with himself – even she couldn't remember when she had last reached such a peak in their lovemaking. But what about his pleasure? Her eyes wandered down to his lap and she frowned, wondering how to proceed.

Given how spent Kenshin seemed right now, she suspected he wouldn't he all that interested in stripping down and continuing with penetrative sex. It could be nice to just climb on his lap and ride him, but her knees were already screaming murder. Perhaps he'd like a blowjob?

But that went back to his general hesitance about undressing in common rooms, something she couldn't blame him for in the slightest, given how drafty it was here in the dining room now that the brazier had simmered down.

But what should she do then? She wanted to please him, too! She bit her lip, running through the options once more when suddenly she realized that she had skipped the most obvious solution.

"Do you think you could sit up and lean against me?" she asked softly.

"Oro?" He blinked up at her, not quite sleepy – but perfectly relaxed and calm. "Uh… um, sure. But why?"

"You know why." She huffed impatiently. "I want to repay the favor."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." She smiled. "So, can I?"

He took a deep breath and wordlessly dragged himself upright, allowing her to pull him against her so that his back was leaning against her chest. She kissed his right cheek and trailed her hand down his side, slipping it through his hakama's side slit.

He sighed softly. "You know that you don't have to…"

"But what if I want to?" she countered, all too familiar with his line of thinking. He was entirely happy to please her, but far too hesitant whenever she wanted to repay the favor.

Giving up, he threw back his head so that his throat was completely bared.

She nibbled at the sensitive skin there, drawing little surprised gasps from him as she fumbled through the folds of his kimono, tugging loose the ties of his fundoshi. And then, she finally reached his length, still hard, the tip slightly sticky. He must have been very near release earlier, but the worst of the urgency had already passed – most likely when they had taken that slight breather.

Well, she could work around that.

Trailing her fingers on his shaft, she caressed the silky soft skin with loose circles and light strokes.

A slight shiver raced through him at the sensation, but he didn't let out any noise. That was alright. He could be so very reserved, even hesitant about showing his pleasure, that she delighted in every little reaction she could draw from him.

The trick was being patient, goading him into it slowly. So she stroked him softly, feather light touches on his most sensitive skin, moving her fingers up and down and up and down again, repeating the motion, finding a nice, gentle rhythm.

His breath was coming out deeper and he had closed his eyes, which was a shame – she loved his pale, violet eyes, especially in the flickering candlelight where they shone so prettily.

She kissed his neck again, the side of his jaw, little kisses one after another as her fingers continued their work on his hardening flesh.

"Kaoru…" he breathed out, only to pause and swallow dryly.

"Yes, dear?" She asked slightly, a spark of mirth tugging at her lips.

He opened his eyes enough to glance up at her, but noting her gleeful smile, he sighed. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

She couldn't help but laugh at his thinly veiled disgruntlement. He had wanted her to hurry up, but he didn't want to tell her that as that was a tad too close to begging. Too bad she wasn't nice enough to give him what he wanted – not this early on in the game. After all, he had teased her god knows how long, so she figured turnabout was a fair play.

However, it was obvious that he was finally feeling the heat, which meant that she needed to step it up: she wrapped her fingers around his length at long last, squeezing it gently.

He bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out loud.

Oh, that wasn't nice at all! She _liked_ when he got noisy. So she nibbled at his neck with her teeth, moving right past the old scars from Kyoto to healthy skin, before sucking in slightly and then lavishing long, soothing licks on the gently abused spot.

He thrashed at bit, moaning softly at the sensation.

It was the contrast, the nerves made sensitive by a little pain then soothed by a gentle caress, which always hit the spot for him.

She smiled and kissed higher, teasing his earlobe while her right hand squeezed his length, moving up and down, up and down more decisively.

His fingers clenched into a fist on his hakama and he spread his legs, not able to stay still any longer. His hips jutted up a bit – there really was something alluring about seeing such a reserved man growing so wanton, so shameless when played just right.

Kaoru hummed softly in his ear. "There, there, my love. Endure it just a little longer."

His length was hard and throbbing in her grip, leaking slightly – and she knew that if she just gave him a few harder strokes, he would be over the edge in an instant.

But she wasn't quite ready for it, not yet.

He had given her such a wonderful rush that it would be downright cruel of her not to try to match it.

Her right hand was busy with his length, but her left one was still free. In another position, she might have been able to rub his buttocks or fondle his sack, to bring him some extra stimuli. Sadly, both were quite decisively out of her reach. But if she just reached around him, maybe she could…

"Ah," Kenshin gasped softly when her left hand tugged loose his kimono, baring his chest to the cool draft of the room. And then, her fingers managed to reach his left nipple, twisting it gently, and he _whimpered_.

"Just a little longer, my love," Kaoru promised him, kissing him at the corner of his lips.

The heat was pooling down, sweat gathering on their skin, the throbbing need was gaining intensity with each passing moment, but Kaoru kept stroking him, alternating the tempo by his reactions, dragging the moment out longer, just a little longer. Up and down, up and down, nibbling bites and soothing licks, knowing pinches and gentle touches to sooth the twinge of pain and finally, he couldn't hold back his moans, his gasps, the little whimpering whines and breathless whispers of "Kaoru, please."

It was exhilarating and almost intoxicating, and Kaoru knew she would never get tired of hearing those two words, but at the same time, she could see – no, feel how very near the edge he was. The only thing holding him back was her grip around his shaft and even that wouldn't last much longer.

No, it was time to end this.

She hugged him tight against her chest. He was so warm and solid and so, so beautiful that her heart ached at the sight of him. "It's time, my love," she said. "Come, come for me." And she relinquished her grip, stroking him softer, once, twice and then he buried his face in her neck as a fierce tremor wracked through his form, and he gasped, all but sobbed as the wave took him over.

She withdrew her sticky hand from the fold of his hakama, swept it dry on her sleeve, and brushed his sweaty bands aside. He was gulping breaths, the aftermath still racing through him, and gods, he was beautiful. So, so beautiful.

It was something he'd never understand himself. He had grown up in a different time and even now, he tended to only think of his red hair and pale eyes as different, strange. Like how the foreigner's customers, fashions, and inventions were different from the proper way of doing things. But that was alright. He was trying and perhaps one day, when he saw how beautiful Kenji would grow out to be, he'd understand why she called them both beautiful.

Kaoru leaned down to give him a little kiss on his brow.

He blinked up blearily, his eyes struggling to focus. "Oroo?"

"Nothing." She smiled. "Just wanted to give you one more kiss."

"Oh."

She huffed fondly and shook her head, about to comment on it when a little voice called out, "Mommy? Daddy?"

Kaoru's eyes shot up, and she scrambled to sit up and smooth down her kimono skirts. Thankfully Kenshin wasn't that far behind her, and with few veiled curses, he was already adjusting his stained hakama and loosened kimono top into some semblance of order.

Not a second too late, because then Kenji was at the dining room doorway, staring at them with curious eyes. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"Oh, that's because we were…"

"Oro! That is to say..."

She and Kenshin exclaimed at the same time, only to look each other, notable blushes rising to their faces. However, from that angle, Kaoru caught sight of their mistletoe, so she motioned towards it, "Oh, it was the mistletoe. Mistletoe was keeping us awake."

Kenji stared at them like they both had lost their minds. "You two are _strange_."

"That's true." Kaoru laughed, rushing to sweep her little boy into her arms. "That's perfectly true. But what are you doing awake this late?"

"Well, I was sleeping – but then I heard something…"

"Oh, you did? What did you hear?"

"I dunno. I was a strange noise, so I came to take a look."

Kaoru shared a covert look with Kenshin, "That's odd. Maybe it was the Santa? You remember that it is the Santa Claus who's bringing gifts for you and Shinta?"

"Oh!" Kenji's exclaimed, his eyes shining with barely held back glee. "Did you see him? Did you see if he brought me plenty of gifts?"

"Lots and lots," Kaoru promised. "For you and Shinta both."


End file.
